Any metaverse aspiring for global relevance will have to steal these ideas from my brain.

Back in 2020, “metaverse” was a buzzword. The idea of living and interacting virtually in a decentralized environment felt exciting, especially on platforms like Decentraland, and The Sandbox. A few years down the line, the hype fizzled, and almost no one talks about it anymore. It now feels like old glory, just like NFTs. Some brands don’t want to be associated with the word, even if they are building something similar. Still, the metaverse holds untouched value that could completely transform virtual interaction. The metaverse that will change the world must tow the footsteps in this article.

Why the metaverse died

Oftentimes, projects with good use cases shut down, only for another project to build the same thing years later and succeed. So what happened? Timing.

When the metaverse was trending and platforms like Decentraland promised people virtual land ownership, Real World Assets (RWA) weren’t a thing. Today, the RWA market is nearing $40 billion in market value. Imagine combining the metaverse with RWA, you’d have the opportunity to not just own virtual land but also real-world property, and even enjoy fractional ownership. In terms of providing real value, the metaverse didn't provide something substantial to keep people. So it was just like NFTs where people traded off hype and got dumped. At that time, most virtual worlds focused on speculation, buying land, flipping NFTs instead of building platforms that would create meaningful daily experiences.

The onboarding process was rough too. Thankfully, many crypto applications now have better user experience and have eliminated much of the technical jargon. Back then, users struggled to sign up on metaverse platforms because of it. Newbies got overwhelmed by unfamiliar terms like gas fees, bridges, seed phrase… Setting up a crypto wallet like MetaMask which was the common entry point for metaverse platforms, meant managing seed phrases and private keys. This was complex for non-crypto-natives.

Thirdly, the metaverse at that time wasn't built to scale. When hype happened, the platforms couldn't manage the influx of people so transactions were very slow, ruining user experience.

The metaverse people will actually use


1. Should start with a promise

Whenever you're introducing people to something new, the promise must be clear. For Decentraland, the promise was that owners of the metaverse will have equal access to land in real life. This narrative brought in over 300,000 people. At that time, RWA sounded stupid . Now, such leverage can be used to help people own lands without being physically in the location.

The brand message would center on three pillars: ownership, fun, and freedom of creative expression — the core tenets of decentralization in a gaming environment.

In web3, people buy promises, not just great products.

If a promise is made like “own a piece of land in your dream city anywhere in the world” (with RWA backing ofc) many will believe it if the narrative is well painted. The rest will join out of FOMO.

The formula is:

Promise → Narrative → Traction → Retention

2. Create defined value

No value = No product = No longterm users

The metaverse that people will actually use needs to feel as real as real life. To break through, it must successfully transfer real-world behaviors and systems into the virtual space.

From a branding perspective, it should offer 3–5 core features that are hard to replicate elsewhere. A random internet user (not just a crypto enthusiast) should find it as engaging as doomscrolling on X, browsing Instagram, or maintaining streaks on Snapchat. Even if similar features exist on other platforms, they should come with trade-offs like higher costs, wasted time, or less enjoyment. The metaverse must position itself as the only place where these benefits are accessible without compromise.

Features a global metaverse should have:

So I’ve got this beautiful idea, how do I get users for v1?

There’s a popular belief that gaming is the pathway to mass adoption. Before the full picture of the metaverse comes to life, a solid gaming-focused version will be built with a captivating storyline and continuous user progression. For v1, the vision and roadmap outlined above must be clearly communicated so users can trust the broader direction of the brand.

Run polls where users vote on the features they want to see next. Is it the marketplace? Once the chosen feature is ready, launch a community-led campaign around it. This amplifies its impact, gives users a sense of ownership, and naturally turns them into brand ambassadors.

Spot those naturally building, sharing, or promoting the platform without an organised contest or incentives and make them manage community activities. This reduces reliance on a single community manager and will make the community feel truly decentralized.

As traction increases, there will be a need to appeal to more gaming niches. The mini-game marketplace should focus on casual, casino, and strategy games. These genres have high demand and will help drive even greater engagement.

Let people jump straight into the metaverse from their existing social accounts like Facebook or Instagram. No extra steps, no friction. That's a smooth onboarding path and doubles as a marketing strategy by meeting users where they already are.

Host contests for developers to build SDKs, gamers to create new worlds, and community members to write guides or host events. This will create a cycle of user-generated content and activity that keeps the ecosystem alive.

Final thoughts